How Do I Use a Lawn Vacuum?

Start the lawn vacuum. There are lawn vacuums that have both manual and electric start motors. To start a manual motor, shift the rod into "Neutral," move the choke lever to "Choke," shift the throttle to "Full Speed," turn the power switch on and pull the starter cord. Once the motor is running, move the choke lever into the "Run" position. On electric start motors, follow the above instructions except, after the throttle is moved to "Full Speed," insert the key into the slot and move the starter switch until the motor starts. Then adjust the choke to the "Run" position.

Shift your lawn vacuum into first gear and select a speed setting. Many lawn vacuums will go up to 2 to 3 miles per hour and designate the first speed setting as the slowest speed and third speed as the fastest.

Move your lawn vacuum over debris in the yard. The lawn vacuum will pick up leaves and grass. Spread out any piles of leaves; lawn vacuums don't suck up piles of leaves well.

Wait for the wheels to come to a complete stop before shifting into second or third gear. Shift into neutral whenever the machine is stopped or reverse whenever you want the machine to go backward.

Turn your lawn vacuum by raising the front wheels slightly off the ground then guide it in the desired direction.

Turn off the machine by first shifting into neutral then moving the throttle control lever to "Idle." Once done, shut off the motor.

Empty the bag when it is full or before storing the machine. When the bag is full, the lawn vacuum will lose suction power. To empty the bag, shut off the engine, place a plastic garbage bag below the vacuum bag, then unzip or unlatch the vacuum bag and dump the debris out.

Move the lawn vacuum, still in neutral, to the garage or other storage space when you are done with it.